In the latest spate of violence to rock Myanmar, 400 of the Rohingya minority have been killed by government forces. Fighting has displaced more than half a million, and the leadership of Nobel Peace prize winner Ang San Suu Kyi has been called into question

China:

100724-N-9500T-336 PACIFIC OCEAN (July 24, 2010) The Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) leads a group of multinational ships during a photo exercise (PHOTOEX) during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2010. RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime exercise. Since 1971, this large-scale biennial exercise has been designed to increase mutual cooperation and enhance the tactical capabilities of participating nations in various aspects of maritime operations at sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Scott Taylor/RELEASED)

2017 will be a challenge for newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump as he will be forced to confront the realities of a rising China in the Pacific. China is set to deploy its first aircraft carrier to the contested South China Sea, where it has annexed and fortified island bases.

China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee Chairman Zhang Dejiang speaks to the media after arriving at Hong Kong’s International Airport on May 17, 2016. One of China’s most powerful officials arrived in Hong Kong on May 17 in an attempt to build bridges in the divided city, but the trip has already stirred anger among opponents. / AFP / Isaac LAWRENCE (Photo credit should read ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP/Getty Images)

As Hong Kong struggles with its identity, it may be facing the fiercest opposition from an unlikely source – itself. Self-censorship is gutting the local media as the search for profits has caused local journalists to refrain from criticising the mainland.

In Japan, death by over-work has become so common that it’s been given it’s own name – Koroshi. Senior Editor Anja Bless examines why it is that Japanese youth are so disproportionately effected and how anyone could work themselves to death.

North Korean military stand watch over a Satellite. Photo: Bobby Yip / Reuters

North Korea has announced an ambitious plan for its domestic space program. The country hopes to launch a number of advanced satellites by 2020 to bolster is communications and economy. It also hopes to land on the moon.

The Pacific

Philippine President Roberto Duterte faces international pressure after the House of Representatives has drastically cut funding for the Commission on Human Rights. President Duterte has been in the spotlight as his “war on drugs” continues to escalate with yet more dead, and questions surround the legality of extra-judicial killings by police and security forces.

Forward observers from Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and the 107 Battery, 4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, coordinate artillery and mortar fire during a four-day, live-fire exercise following the conclusion of Talisman Saber 13 here, Aug. 3. The live-fire exercise included the coordination of fire-support assets from the 31st MEU; the USS Chung-Hoon, an Arleigh Burke-class AEGIS destroyer; the HMAS Perth III, an ANZAC Class frigate; and the Australian Army. The exercise provided effective and intense training to ensure U.S. and Australian forces are capable, interoperable, deployable on short notice and combat ready. The 31st MEU is the Marine Corps’ force in readiness and the only continuously forward-deployed MEU. (Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Paul Robbins Jr.)

The U.S. stands at a cross-roads. It’s defence and foreign policy now stands likely to see a fundamental shift in focus across the globe.